Intro to media studiesWhat is Mass Media?

Some questions to consider.....

How can we think about media technologies in a smart, critical way?

Does the mass media change society and culture?

Does it reflect our social values?

Breakdown the term“Medium” - a channel of communication; a means through which people send and receive information

“Mass” - means “many;” in this context, refers to different forms of media that are used to transmit to (and be received by) large numbers of people (the audience)

Mass media are the diversified technologies that are intended to reach a large audience

television

newspaper

books

magazines

radio

internet

Broadcast Media

Print Media

Defining mass mediaDutton et al (1998) suggested that the mass media has been differentiated from other types of communication (such as interpersonal communication that occurs on a one-to-one basis) in terms of four essential characteristics:

1. Distance

2. Technology

3. Scale

4. Commodity

Distance

Communication between those who send and receive messages (media-speak for information) is:

impersonal

lacks immediacy and is

one way (from the producer/creator of the information to the consumer / audience)

TechnologyMass communication requires a vehicle, such as a television receiver, a computer, internet, a method of printing and so forth, that allows messages to be sent and received

SCALE One feature of a mass medium is that it involves simultaneous communication with many people; the same behavior is being reproduced by thousands of others, across the country and/or world

Commodity An interesting feature of mass communication is that it comes at a price. You can watch football on TV, for example, if you can afford a television, a satellite dish, and a subscription to something like Sky Sports.